Ministry Of Transportation Reveals The Population Of The Java-Sumatra Rhino That Remains About 100 Heads

Badak Jawa. (doc the National Park (TN) Ujung Kulon)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) said that the population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) totaling only about 100 individuals each in their natural ecosystem.

"For Javan rhinos, we estimate that the population is currently between 87-100 individuals and we are sure that the individual is less than 100," said Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE) of the Ministry of Forestry Satyawan Pudyatmoko in commemoration of World Rhino Day 2025 in Jakarta, Monday, confiscated by Antara.

Similar conditions also occur with the Sumatran rhino species whose population is estimated to be below 100 individuals spread across conservation areas in Sumatra and the remaining few tails in Kalimantan.

He acknowledged that a number of challenges faced by the original Indonesian rhino population, whose status is in the critically endangered category in the Red List issued by the IUCN, is not only a threat of hunting.

There are also challenges in a fragmented ecosystem and the potential for inbreeding that threatens the sustainability of the animal population.

The government through the Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) is making a number of efforts to increase the endangered population of Javan rhinos whose species are only left in Ujung Kulon National Park, Banten.

In the Red and White Operation which was launched in early September 2025, the Ministry of Transportation collaborated with the TNI and the Indonesian Rhino Foundation (YABI) to move the Javan rhino from the Ujung Kulon Peninsula to the Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA) which is still at the conservation site.

In addition, the Ministry of Transportation has also recently collaborated with IPB University to develop biological banks or biobanks and the application of assisted reproductive technology (Assisted Reproductive Technology / ART) to increase the population of rhinos.

As for the Sumatran rhinoceros, the Ministry of Forestry is preparing to relocate a rhino named Pari, the only Sumatran rhino in Kalimantan, to enter the in-situ conservation area. After previously successfully securing the rhinoceros in the Kelian Rhinoceros (SBK) in East Kalimantan.

"At the same time, the Sumatran rhino rescue will be in Aceh, which is outside the Gunung Leuser National Park," he said.